REVIEW: “All the Turns of the Earth” by Matthew Claxton

Review of Matthew Claxton, “All the Turns of the Earth”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2020): 132–137 (print) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

Narrated in the second person, this story features a  young child mysteriously catapulted into prehistoric times.  There, the child finds the abandoned egg of pterosaur and raises it into adulthood. The two forge a strong relationship with each other, but before long, the child falls back into the present day. She grows up grows up wondering if she’ll ever see the pterosaur again.

First, I must confess a personal bias: I don’t really like stories told in the second person. More than often I find second person stories contrived and gimmicky, adding little or nothing to the core of the narrative. That said, Claxton manages to avoid the usual distractions of second person, creating a rather engaging little yarn. The prose is elegant and poetic, and even though at times it verges on the “purple,” it goes a long way at making the scenery come alive. I particularly enjoyed the description of the transition from the past, back to the present:

You stumble, and skin your soft hands on the asphalt.

The story might feel a bit out-of-place to regular readers of Analog, as it belongs more in the realm of fantasy or magical realism than anything remotely resembling hard SF (Analog’s usual cup of tea), but I nevertheless enjoyed it while it was there.

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REVIEW: “The Greatest Day” by Eric Choi

Review of Eric Choi, “The Greatest Day”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2020): 92–103 – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

In this story, Eric Choi imagines an alternate past where the damage that brought down the space shuttle Columbia does not go undetected, but is instead caught on time by an eager and highly motivated ground crew. Once they confirm the damage on Columbia’s left wing, ground control works diligently to plan a suitable rescue mission to bring the ship’s crew safely back home.

“The Greatest Day” offers little in the way of originality, but it is nevertheless a well-written tale full of suspense, excitement, and bureaucratic tension — as well as tons of delicious detail regarding NASA’s internal operations. The author does a great job at keeping a crisp pace so that the plot does not get bogged down in technical minutiae (of which there are plenty). The simple and straightforward prose, organized by dates and locations, adds greatly to the realism of the piece, which at times reads like a governmental report. All in all, an entertaining read.

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REVIEW: “The Grass Bows Down, The Pilgrims Walk Lightly” by Izzy Wasserstein

Review of Izzy Wasserstein, “The Grass Bows Down, The Pilgrims Walk Lightly”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2020): 125–131 (Print) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

The Klevish are an alien civilization who despite their advanced technological status, appear to lead a rather mystic lifestyle. They agree to share some of their knowledge with Earth, provided a human representative can overcome one of their challenges. This time they’ve chosen Erika, a biologist, as Earth’s negotiator for a genetic reclamation technology. The puzzle she must solve is simple: why does a particular species of a tall grass bend as the Klevish pass by it?

This is an excellent example of concise storytelling, covering a lot of ground in only a few paragraphs. There’s a simple, yet powerful poignancy about the world and characters that Wasserstein unfolds throughout her non-linear narrative, adding to a pleasant feeling of melancholy. Erika’s struggle, despite its science fictional backbone, is immensely relatable to anyone who’s had to choose between more than one path in their lives. The sadness that such a choice entails comes through clearly in the story.

Unfortunately, the ending does not quite hold up to the excellent build up, as the Erika’s solution to the Klevish puzzle seems like a hand-wavy attempt to bring the story to a hasty close. It works, but I can’t help but think that cleverer solution exists somewhere out there, one that does try to force the metaphor quite so much.

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REVIEW: “Hive” by Jay Werkheiser

Review of Jay Werkheiser, “Hive”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2020): 82–92 – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

A group of space travelers encounter a planet where the predominant form of intelligent life – The Hive – communicates by chemical signaling rather than speech. Neither species can quite figure out the other as communication between the two is all but impossible. Hive has to worry not only about the Humans, but also their ongoing conflict with another species, Methyl, while the Humans remain entirely clueless of the whole affair.

“Hive” is a solid hard SF story. The narration alternates between the human and alien points of view, presenting two vastly different and incompatible worlds to the reader. Though a bit dense to start with (the alien POV segments can seem intentionally cryptic), it flows seamlessly once you understand what it is about. No doubt, this is a story intended for those who are willing to be patient with their SF. The underlying concept seems plausible enough provided one doesn’t dig to deep into the ideas presented. For instance, while complex communication through chemical signaling is not that far of a stretch, any intelligence arising from such a system requires further consideration. The author still needs to use language to convey the aliens’ thoughts to the readers.

Overall, I strongly recommend this story.

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REVIEW: “The Ordeal” by M. Bennardo

Review of M. Bennardo, “The Ordeal”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue Number 297, February 13, 2020: Read online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer.

I’ve enjoyed many other stories by this author, but this time Bennardo has outdone himself. In this tale of institutionalized evil, a young man named Waller, at the urging of his lawyer father, visits the mythical Duchy of Alpinia. There, he encounters the world’s strangest court of appeals. To save the life of her wrongfully accused husband, Frau Fenster must undergo a trial by ordeal. In a single day, she—the duchy’s finest spinner—must produce via spinning wheel at least twice as much material as is humanly possible. Since nothing short of divine intervention could help her succeed, the country’s legal system literally requires Frau Fenster to work a miracle or her husband will be shot at dawn the next day. To Waller, this is a barbaric practice, but to the learned men of Alpinia, it seems perfectly reasonable to put their faith in God, “the only true Witness and the only unerring Judge.” 

Saying more would spoil an excellent story, but I strongly urge you to read it. It’s among the best Beneath Ceaseless Skies has published. Given how good a magazine BCS is, that’s saying quite a lot. 

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REVIEW: “Forgive Me, My Love, For the Ice and the Sea” by C. L. Clark

Review of C. L. Clark, “Forgive Me My Love, For the Ice and the Sea”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies 296, January 30, 2020, Read online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer. 

I’m not usually a big fan of pirate stories, but I’ll gladly make an exception for this one. References to the sea and sailing all ring true, but the story excels in its depiction of the love triangle at its core and the characterization of the women who comprise it.  

Instead of a Pirate King, Clark gives us a Pirate Queen, Issheth by name, whose drowned wife she hopes to convince the goddess of the sea to resurrect. Among her crew, is Laema, who has been coerced into killing Issheth in order to free her own wife, imprisoned by the High Court as a sort of bargaining chip. As Laema becomes more and more enamored of Issheth, killing her becomes increasingly problematic. Then the goddess intervenes on behalf of both women and things end differently—and more unpredictably—than either would have believed possible. Another fine story from one of the best magazines in the field. 

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REVIEW: “The Candle Queen” by ephiny gale

Review of ephiny gale, “The Candle Queen,” Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 295, January 16, 2020, Read Online. Reviewed by Richard Lohmeyer.

This is a good, if perhaps, flawed story. It posits a very strange world, one that selects at the age of eight 26 girls based solely on their capacity for self-control and stamina. At 17, the girl who most excels at these two qualities becomes her world’s “unflinching rod,” The Candle Queen. It is her duty into old age to wear upon her head a metal bowl on which three large candles sit upon a heavy plate. If she doesn’t–if for even a moment her concentration falters and she fails to keep her head upright—the candles might go out. And if they do, the world will end. Or so it is said.  

For the girl selected for this “honor,” it is not much of a life.  Fortunately, the Candle Queen has a handmaiden named Anne who considers it her duty, as well as her pleasure, to introduce her queen to the joys of intimacy and personal freedom. Which, of course, underscores the tension—in her world and ours—between duty and freedom. 

I have only one quibble regarding this story. As metaphor, it works wonderfully well. In the fantasy world Gale posits, however, it seems unlikely that even the most disciplined person could sit or stand bolt upright for years—let alone a lifetime.

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REVIEW: “Bulkheads Make the Best Neighbors” by Ian Randal Strock

Review of Ian Randal Strock, “Bulkheads Make the Best Neighbors”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2020): 116–117 (print) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Permanent inhabitants in Earth’s orbit (possibly asteroid miners) have grown tired and resentful of the planet’s interference in their affairs. They have long yearned for independence but lack the necessary firepower to directly confront Earth. During a council session, a spacer named Maggie comes up with a clever plan: what if they smashed asteroids into tiny pieces to create a permanent “wall of junk” around earth? That will block off the planet and “keep the groundhogs [Earthers] down where they belong.”

There’s not much I can say about this story other than it is incredibly short, so short as to appear incomplete. It gives the impression that it is merely a scene from a larger story, the rest of which got mistakenly left out. For one thing, blocking off the entire planet seems like a massive overreaction to the simple burden of extra paperwork. A little more elaboration on behalf of the author would have helped put the story in proper perspective. Moreover, the author has decided to spell out the uncharacteristically “southern” dialects of the spacers, something that I always find a bit of a nuisance (let alone offensive), although here it is not so bad as to make the story unreadable. Overall, the story feels much more like a quick writing exercise than a complete piece of flash fiction.

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REVIEW: “Welcome to the New You: Terms and Conditions for the iCRISPR Gene-Editing Kit” by Douglas F. Dluzen

Review of Douglas F. Dluzen, “Welcome to the New You: Terms and Conditions for the iCRISPR Gene-Editing Kit”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2020): 121–123 – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

This was a fun little short short (or flash fiction, if you will), structured in the form of an ad email to a hypothetical customer who began the online purchase of a gene-editing kit but never finished it. The contents of the email outline the benefits of the company’s various gene-editing kits in an attempt to encourage the customer to complete their purchase. The terms and conditions of the product are also included in the email.

I enjoyed the humor and wit of the story, even though most of it was quite on the nose. A nice touch was the company’s name, uGENIX (like eugenics), which unfortunately, does not sound all that implausible. Most poignantly, the included “Terms and Conditions” were just more thinly veiled advertisements of the product, including an obvious plea for the user to petition their representative about governmental regulations against gene editing.

But here at uGENIX, we believe you should have access to your own genome in its entirety.

Overall, a rather well done and humorous story that should take about a minute or two to read.

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REVIEW: “Wheel of Echoes” by Sean McMullen

Review of Sean McMullen, “Wheel of Echoes”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2020): 72–81 – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

A producer in a recording studio comes across an old, 17th century recording device that contains the voice of Shakespeare performing Hamlet. A young voice actress, Kirsty, and an esteemed scholar of Shakespearean literature, Prof. Wilson, are invited to examine it. While Kirsty can appreciate the recording for what it is, the professor goes bonkers on account that the discovery will invalidate his work, as well as the work of countless other Shakespearean scholars. According to Professor Wilson, that is simply unacceptable.

“Wheel of Echoes” is one of those stories that has a great premise but a rather disappointing execution. An archaic recording of Shakespeare – and the fact that he may have been a lousy actor – is a genuinely neat idea. For about a third of the story, McMullen weaves an engaging mystery that culminates in the exciting revelation of the recording device. But as soon as that is done, the plot slips rapidly into implausibility. The characters are largely relegated into stereotypes whose actions are difficult to justify – or even understand. Prof. Wilson, especially, is depicted as an outright caricature of the “stuck-up academic,” unrealistic to the point of malintent. The story feels more like an expression of the author’s personal biases against academics than a serious examination of what would happen had such a device been discovered. The finale was a major letdown.

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